Sonic Colors Ultimate Review: A Remaster 10 Years in the Making

Platforms – PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (Backwards Compatible with PS5), Xbox One (Backwards compatible with Xbox Series X/S). 

Developed By – Blind Squirrel Games

Published By – Sega

Released – September 7, 2021 (September 3 if Digital Deluxe)

Genre – Platformer, Action-Adventure

During a Livestream of Sonic Central on May 27, 2021, Sega announced a remaster of the 11-year-old Wii title, “Sonic Colors,” naming it “Sonic Colors Ultimate.” Sonic Colors on the Wii was considered one of the best modern Sonic titles, and fans have since speculated about a move to other consoles.

The Interstellar Story

Sonic Colors takes place after the events of Sonic Unleashed and before the events of Sonic Generations. 

The story begins with the speedy hero, Sonic, and his friend Tails arriving at an amusement park called “Dr. Eggman’s Amazing Interstellar Amusement Park.” Upon arrival, Sonic and Tails discover Eggman’s robots chasing a group of small aliens named Wisps. After saving the Wisps, Sonic finds the aliens have different powers which Sonic can absorb and use. Eggman plans on using those powers for his own gain and has trapped the Wisps. 

Sonic goes from planet to planet, shutting down generators that trap the Wisps. Throughout the game, Sonic discovers more and more Wisps to harness for the sake of helping the others. 

A Colorful Journey

Sonic runs through an abundance of vibrantly colored levels. The player has to run, jump, slide, attack and boost their way through to free the Wisps at the end of each level by breaking open a large capsule, similar to the classic Sonic games. 

All Sonic the Hedgehog staples are still present such as loops for Sonic to run through, rings to collect to stay alive and multiple pathways for the player to find extra goodies. However, Sonic Colors also added Wisps for Sonic to use throughout the levels. These small aliens let Sonic perform different abilities and can be found in small capsules spread out through each level. Sonic Colors also has a new optional collectible called Red Rings, which unlock extra levels in the Sonic Simulator that in turn unlock a special bonus once completed. 

In Sonic Colors Ultimate, multiple changes were made to give veterans a new sense of replay value. The first change was the addition of Park Tokens, a collectible found in every level. When the player obtains enough, they can purchase cosmetic upgrades for Sonic. 

Rival Rush mode is a new way to play in Sonic Colors Ultimate. It’s a time attack mode, but the player is racing Sonic’s long-time rival, Metal Sonic. When the player wins, they obtain awards. These are unlocked by collecting 15 Red Star Rings in each area and can only be accessed in one specific act. 

The lives system is wholly omitted from the new Sonic Colors Ultimate, meaning players will be dropped at the last platform they were on, rather than starting from the previous checkpoint. This can be seen as an excellent way for some players to allow a slight error in each level and give new players an easier time, but veterans may see it as broken. 

The most significant change to Sonic Colors is the addition of the Jade Wisp, which made its first appearance in Team Sonic Racing. This new Wisp allows Sonic to phase through walls and find new treasures. 

Graphically, Sonic Colors Ultimate includes new textures and lighting to make the game more compatible with modern consoles. However, the story cutscenes remain graphically unchanged from the original game, resulting in grainy pictures.  

Sonic Colors Ultimate suffers from many graphical glitches such as textures not loading or Sonic himself disappearing.  These glitches introduce the possibility of a corrupted save file or frequent crashes. The Switch version is littered with these bugs and even more issues, like longer load times. These glitches exist on the Xbox and PlayStation versions but not to the same scale as the Switch version. 

However, Sonic Colors Ultimate went above and beyond on the soundtrack as with remixes of every level theme, the main theme “Reach for the Stars” and the credits theme “Speak With Your Heart.” All of the themes are upbeat with a distinct melody while relating to the level’s theme, such as Sweet Mountain having more of a bombastic feeling while Asteroid Coaster has a more sinister feel. 

Sonic Colors Ultimate attempted to revamp an 11-year-old title, but despite the new features,  it was plagued with enough new issues to make it disappointing overall. Currently, Sonic Colors Ultimate costs $39.99, but it’s best to either wait for a price drop or until all of the issues are patched out, even if you are a Sonic fan.